Florida to Maine: journeyman plumber license reciprocity
Florida does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Maine's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Licensure by endorsement (32 M.R.S. §3501-C); examination if origin requirements are not substantially equivalent
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Maine has a statutory endorsement path for plumbers and no published list of signed reciprocity partners was found. Under 32 M.R.S. §3501-C the Plumbers' Examining Board must establish licensure by endorsement in accordance with 10 M.R.S. §8003-H: an applicant who holds a substantially equivalent journeyman-level license in another U.S. jurisdiction, is in good standing everywhere licensed, and pays the fee may be licensed without sitting Maine's journeyman examination, unless a jurisprudence exam is required by law or rule (none is identified in chapter 49). An applicant whose origin license is not substantially equivalent applies under §3501(1-A) and (2): sworn application, §3501-B fee, documented 4,000 hours (or 2,000 journeyman-in-training hours) or the equivalent, and a passing grade on the board-approved journeyman exam. Out-of-state hours can count as 'the equivalent' of licensed trainee time. No municipal plumber license is a Maine credential.
Fee, eligibility details, and processing steps are not published in a form we can list here. Please see the sources on this page to find out more.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Your Florida license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
- Origin jurisdiction's journeyman requirements must be substantially equivalent to Maine's (10 M.R.S. §8003-H). Maine's own exam pathway is 4,000 hours as a licensed trainee under a master, or the equivalent, plus a passing grade on the journeyman examination (32 M.R.S. §3501(2)).
- You must document at least 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Statutory exam-route minimum: at least 2 years / 4,000 hours as a licensed trainee plumber under a master, or the equivalent; alternatively 2,000 hours as a journeyman-in-training under a master within 4 years of the JIT license. Endorsement applicants meet this only insofar as the origin pathway is substantially equivalent.
What you'll do to get licensed in Maine
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee. Fee set under 32 M.R.S. §3501-B (and OPOR 02-041 CMR ch. 10). Statute opened: fees by rule, not to exceed $350 biennially..
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Journeyman Plumber license fee under 32 M.R.S. §3501-B..
- 3Other. Sworn application on a form prescribed by the board, with proof of the valid, active out-of-state license (license verification from the issuing board).
- 4Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). Board-approved journeyman plumber examination with a passing grade determined by the board (32 M.R.S. §3501(1-A), (2)) — required only if endorsement under §3501-C is not available..
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Trade exam · if applicable
How Maine licenses journeyman plumbers
Maine journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber”
Statewide license
Maine issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber license through the Plumbers' Examining Board in OPOR (32 M.R.S. ch. 49). By examination an applicant files a sworn application, pays the fee set under §3501-B, documents at least two years / 4,000 hours as a licensed trainee plumber under a master (or the equivalent), or 2,000 hours as a journeyman-in-training under a master within four years of the JIT license, and obtains a passing grade on the board-approved journeyman examination. The board also issues a one-time, four-year nonrenewable journeyman-in-training license after one academic year of approved plumbing instruction plus the same exam, a limited plumber license, and a trainee plumber license without examination. Out-of-state journeymen are directed to licensure by endorsement under 32 M.R.S. §3501-C and 10 M.R.S. §8003-H when the origin jurisdiction's requirements are substantially equivalent; otherwise they apply by examination with comparable hours credited as 'the equivalent' of Maine trainee time.
Why Florida has nothing to transfer
Florida journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber certificate of competency (county-issued)”
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by County and municipal licensing boards (no state journeyman license)
Florida has no state journeyman plumber license. The Construction Industry Licensing Board within DBPR certifies and registers plumbing contractors only (occupation codes CF/RF); s. 489.105 never defines 'journeyman', and the Board's plumbing application list has no journeyman credential. Hillsborough County states there is 'no State of Florida requirement for anyone to hold a Journeyman Certificate of Competency.' Section 489.1455, F.S., instead authorizes counties and municipalities to issue journeyman licenses in the plumbing (and pipe fitting, mechanical, or HVAC) trades to a person who scores at least 75 percent on a proctored journeyman exam, has completed a registered apprenticeship or 12,000 hours of on-the-job training, and completes Florida Building Commission coursework, and it requires every county and municipality to recognize a journeyman licensed by any other Florida county or municipality. Large urban counties run such programs (Hillsborough's Journeyman Plumber Certificate of Competency; Miami-Dade's Construction Trades Qualifying Board plumbing journeyman card). An out-of-state journeyman plumber license carries no state-level recognition, so an arriving plumber should expect to document experience and take the county exam in the first county that requires a card, after which that Florida county card is portable statewide under s. 489.1455(2).
How local licensing works in Florida
How local licensing works. DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board certifies (statewide) and registers (locally qualified) plumbing contractors and issues no personal license below contractor. Section 489.1455, F.S. lets counties and municipalities license journeymen in the plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical and HVAC trades on three conditions: 75 percent on a proctored Block and Associates or other board-approved journeyman exam, a registered and state-approved apprenticeship or 12,000 hours of on-the-job training, and Florida Building Commission-approved coursework (within 6 months of certification). Subsection (2) makes every county and municipality recognize a journeyman licensed by any other Florida county or municipality. A journeyman card never authorizes contracting; the holder works under a certified or registered plumbing contractor.
Hillsborough County. Development Services issues a Journeyman Electrician or Plumber Certificate of Competency. Fees on the 2026-09-16 page: $50 nonrefundable initiation, $100 on acceptance, $70 one-time registration. The holder 'must always work under the supervision of a properly licensed Electrical/Plumbing Contractor.' Application is through HillsGovHub with apprenticeship completion (if any), an approved-agency exam score if already tested, and a verification-of-experience form. From the 2026-09-15 reading of the same hub: three years of proven field experience (up to one-half education equivalent), open-book exam at 75 percent or above, $240 fee; the county 'only reciprocates with Broward and Palm Beach County in specific trade categories' and only for journeymen who scored 75% or higher. The 2026-09-16 hub extract did not reprint those figures.
Pinellas County. The Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board journeyman application (read 2026-09-15 for HVAC/electrical FL; pinellas.gov and the PDF failed to extract on 2026-09-16) offered Plumbing, Electrical, Pipe Fitting, Air Conditioning and Sheet Metal Journeyman classifications: open-book independent-agency exam, about six hours, passing grade 70%, $75 non-refundable application fee, notarized employer experience certificates, six-year employment history and three character letters. No out-of-state reciprocity is printed on that form. Journeymen must be certified by PCCLB to work in the county.
Broward, Palm Beach, Orange and Duval. Broward County's Building Code Division Central Examining Boards use a contractor/journeyman packet (Chapter 9) that the HVAC and electrical FL files document for mechanical and electrical journeymen ($225 journeyman application / $120 renewal / $50 letter of reciprocity as of January 1, 2025; 75% GITS or ProV exam). Treat those as leads.
Out-of-state journeymen. None of the county programs reviewed publishes an out-of-state reciprocity rule. Expect to sit the first county's exam; a qualifying Florida county card is then recognized statewide under s. 489.1455(2).
- Hillsborough County (Development Services, Journeyman Plumber Certificate of Competency)
- Miami-Dade County (Construction Trades Qualifying Board - Plumbing)
- Pinellas County (Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board - Plumbing Journeyman)
- Broward County (Building Code Division, Central Examining Boards)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Maine journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Florida?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- Do my Florida work hours count in Maine?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Maine's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Maine to Florida?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Maine to Florida, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Maine Plumbers' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) - expected board home · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR), Department of Professional and Financial Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation - Professions and Boards · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- 10 M.R.S. §8003-H - Licensure by endorsement (OPOR general provision) · 10 M.R.S. §8003-H · Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- 32 M.R.S. §3501 - Issuance of licenses (journeyman, master, journeyman-in-training, trainee) · 32 M.R.S. §3501 · Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- 32 M.R.S. §3501-B - Fees (Plumbers' Examining Board) · 32 M.R.S. §3501-B · Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- 32 M.R.S. §3501-C - Licensure by endorsement (Plumbers' Examining Board) · 32 M.R.S. §3501-C; PL 2021, c. 642, §16 · Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- 32 M.R.S. Chapter 49 - Plumbers (table of contents) · 32 M.R.S. ch. 49 · Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.